Rodrigo's dramatic stoppage-time penalty rescues a point for Marcelo Bielsa's side - Mail Online 23/10/21

Leeds 1-1 Wolves: Rodrigo's dramatic stoppage-time penalty rescues a point for Marcelo Bielsa's side after Hwang Hee-chang's fourth goal from five games had given the visitors an early lead

Rodrigo scored a penalty to claim a point at home against Bruno Lage 's side

Rodrigo was taken down by Conor Coady and Max Kilman in the 90+4 minute

The striker went on to score the penalty to level the score in dramatic fashion

Wolves had been leading after Hee-Chang scored in the first 10 minutes

By DAVID COVERDALE

Mere moments after Joe Gelhardt had brought Elland Road to its feet, Leeds’ new teenage hero was asked about his hopes for the future.

‘I would love to play more games here at Elland Road and in the Premier League,’ said the 19-year-old home debutant. On the evidence of Saturday, he can be pretty sure of achieving that. And then some.

It was Gelhardt’s second-half cameo off the bench that completely transformed the tempo of this match - and may even change the course of Leeds’ season.

United had been banging down Wolves’ door in an attempt to rescue a point and avoid a fifth defeat in nine games. But it was not until the introduction of Gelhardt, making just his second first-team appearance for Leeds, that they really looked like scoring.

After a couple of close efforts of his own, the England Under-21 forward won an injury-time penalty for his side with a barnstorming run into the box which resulted him being upended by Nelson Semedo.

Rodrigo tucked the 94th-minute spot-kick away to deny Wolves a fourth straight victory but Gelhardt was the player given a hero’s reception at full-time.

‘It was crazy,’ said Gelhardt, the Scouse striker who has drawn comparisons to Wayne Rooney and was signed from Wigan for £1million last year. ‘I sort of went numb when I heard the noise.’

Leeds have still only won only one of their nine Premier League games this season – and that was against a Watford side who sacked their manager the next day.

But this last-gasp draw will have felt like a victory for Marcelo Bielsa and the emergence of Gelhardt could really galvanise his struggling side, especially with Raphinha now set to join Patrick Bamford on the treatment table after picking up an injury.

‘In the final 15 minutes, he got the penalty and he had the options to score one or even two goals,’ said Bielsa about Gelhardt. ‘I had the impression that him alongside Rodrigo in the second half created enough chances to win the game.

‘It was a step forward compared to the game last week. Last week the performance was without shine and this performance looked a lot more like what the team is capable of.’

If Gelhardt made the difference, so did the raucous Elland Road crowd, who never gave up on their team.

‘I received something that was written to me from Chile and it reminded me of a song the fans in that country sing that when a team is not playing well, the more you have to shout because that makes them win,’ Bielsa added.

‘Today in the moment when the team most needed it, the public had a decisive presence so that message I received from a country that I love a lot, the game today involved that message.’

Bielsa, who controversially kept Kalvin Phillips on the bench as he eases back from injury, will have been relieved for the crowd sticking by him and his side because he saw his tactical switch backfire in the first half.

With Bamford out, he bizarrely pitted wide man Daniel James up front. But it was an experiment which lasted all of 45 minutes, as Tyler Roberts was brought on to play through the middle after the break, with Jack Harrison hooked and the ineffectual James sent back out to the left wing.

The first half was a chastening one for Harrison and he was at fault for Wolves’ 10th-minute opener. Harrison dived in to tackle Semedo down the right byline but made a mess of it, allowing the Portuguese right-back to cut across to Raul Jimenez.

And while the Mexican striker’s attempted shot was blocked, the ball fell for on-loan RB Leipzig forward Hwang Hee-Chan to stab past Illan Meslier for his fourth goal in six games. ‘For Hwang and his numbers and the opportunities he creates, we are very happy with his work,’ said Wolves boss Bruno Lage.

In the second half, Wolves came close to extending their lead when Rayan Ait-Nouri jinked into the box and struck at Meslier.

Then Leeds were dealt another blow as their liveliest player Raphinha was forced off injured after 54 minutes following a clumsy tackle from Romain Saiss, leaving the stadium last night in crutches and in a protective boot.

Bielsa was given a boost post-match though when Raphinha revealed he expected to return to action soon. He said: 'Hello guys, just coming to say I’m fine, it was nothing serious. So I’m back soon.'

However, spurred on by their supporters and the introduction of Gelhardt, Leeds kept pressing towards the end.

Gelhardt was only denied a goal of his own by a fine save by Jose Sa after he was slipped in by Rodrigo. But his moment to remember came with that run in injury time. And while No19 Rodrigo slotted in the penalty, it was the 19-year-old who will have been the talk of Leeds on Saturday night.